Hyderabad-based agritech startup Our Food raises $6 million
Hyderabad: Our Food, an agritech startup based in Hyderabad, which deals with innovative, low-cost, and decentralised mini food processing units, raised $6 million (about Rs 45 crore) in growth funding.
The company plans to ramp up operations, increase manufacturing capacity and improve the agricultural food supply chain. This funding round is led by existing investor, 3Lines Venture Capital, and a new investor, C4D Asia Fund. Lalit Jalan, 3Lines India chairman and ex-CEO of Reliance Infrastructure, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
Over 1,700 rural entrepreneurs have licensed Our Food Farmer Franchisees, each operating a regional crop-specific processing unit that procures and processes raw material from over a hundred farmers from nearby villages.
Each Farmer Franchisee is powered with an end-to-end tech-enabled solution, starting with the establishment of a single mini food processing unit, access to equipment financing, training in processing, and marketing of the processed output.
Our Food has a presence in 12 States in India, primarily concentrating in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. The company has processing units for over 15 crops, including pulses, cereals, spices, groundnut, and plans to expand its crop portfolio.
“Our Food value proposition is a triple play for the rural youth who operate franchises, for farmers who can increase their income through direct supply, and for the business buyers who can offer higher quality to their consumers”, said Lalit Jalan.
“Our Food has seen a growth of over 100x in its decentralised processing over the last two years signalling a disruptive trend in mini food processing,” Jalan added.
“Majority of the value gained from pre-processing, reducing post-harvest wastage and supply chain disintermediation is shared between the franchise operator and the farmer that supplies the unprocessed harvest,” said Bala Reddy, founder & CEO of Our Food.
The capital infusion will help the company boost capacity to over 6,000 operational franchises, and position for an IPO in 2024, Bala Reddy added.
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